tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7992023935961455603.post7737334396801946982..comments2015-07-20T20:11:47.402-05:00Comments on Life on the Other Side of the Wall: Life in the CornerAaron Likenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986793563943738918noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7992023935961455603.post-16907147950360841992013-03-22T16:19:52.414-05:002013-03-22T16:19:52.414-05:00If there are some people I know at an event, I wil...If there are some people I know at an event, I will NEVER sit at the corner. I want to be with people I know or be with someone (or a group of people) whom I might not know who approached me. Partly maybe because I don&#39;t have as much social anxiety. Partly is because I feel that going to an event (invite or paid for) and not socialize is pointless.<br /><br />That&#39;s one thing I think you can learn from me. In these situations in my early days of my diagnosis, my occupational therapist firmly told me with events that I have to go to, &quot;This might be a challenge to you. But, I would like to you to try to have conversations with at least three people you didn&#39;t know over the course of the 3-day conference.&quot; Then, that number was increased to five the following time. After I surpassed that, my OT and I agreed now that I progressed to a point it is no longer an issue.<br /><br />But for you... maybe set the bar at the lowest possible- 1! After a while, then increase it to 2... and so on and so forth.<br /><br />Don&#39;t get me wrong... it is a hard thing for individuals with autism. I had a few times now where I met someone whom I wasn&#39;t connected with someone on Facebook or Twitter before. It was a little scary because I wasn&#39;t as prepared on what these people like as others I connected before hand. But, that was when my go to questions became handy and the conversation turned out to be super.<br /><br />This kind of thing is something that is very hard to problem solve alone. Sure, you may know what the struggle is after seeing it happened over and over. But the solution side of things, you may need others to help you. This is like golf really. Even the elite golfers in the world have coaches. Why? Sometimes they need another set of eyes to look at their golf games so that they can perform optimally on the golf course during big time tournaments.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977097284075812594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7992023935961455603.post-53508875265202724422011-12-08T12:24:59.268-06:002011-12-08T12:24:59.268-06:00It sounds as if the room was filled with police of...It sounds as if the room was filled with police officers that have &#39;heard&#39; your presentation. &#39;Hearing&#39; and &#39;seeing&#39; are two very different things. I believe that you gave that room full of people the very best presentation of your life without even realizing it!<br /><br />I am still very saddened every time you have to go through that though!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com